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Maciej Dakowicz, who lives between Poland and Thailand, is great at capturing uniquely ironic candid moments in his documentary or street photography. Originally a computer scientist, the artist has switched his focus to photography and has even received awards for his work.

According to his website, Maciej’s photos have been featured in major street photography books including “Street Photography Now”, “The World Atlas of Street Photography”, “100 Great Street Photographs” and “Bystander: A History of Street Photography”. Scroll down to see some of his best shots!

More info: Instagram | Facebook | flickr.com | twitter.com

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Meet Maciej Dakowicz's Breathtaking Street Photographs

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Tiny Dancer
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2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Oh, if I had a nickel for how many Saturday mornings hit me this hard in my youth. Good times. I think.

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Bored Panda asked Maciej about how photography first entered his life: “I moved to Hong Kong from Poland to work at university in 2000. I bought my first camera soon after, I think it was 2002 and I was 26 then.

I was very excited about the city and simply wanted a camera to be able to take photos of this place. I spent almost 4 years in Hong Kong and that's where I developed my passion for photography. There I joined some Internet photography sharing sites, then Flickr, and eventually Instagram.

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    “I always enjoyed taking pictures of daily life in the street, taking unposed photos of people going about their life,” Maciej says. “Later I discovered the idea of a decisive moment and realised that some photos are better than others because there is this extra element of surprise in them, I call it a ‘twist’ - something that makes the picture special, takes it to another level.

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    I travel a lot and enjoy traveling to countries where people are camera friendly, open to meeting strangers with cameras, curious about them, and don't mind being photographed. Asia is my favourite continent and I have been to most Asian countries.”

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    Tiny Dancer
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    2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Love how the real cat's ducking under the balloon cat. Not taking his eye off you!

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    When asked about the most special moment in his photography career so far, the artist explains: “It was not a single moment, but a period of time around 2008 when I lived in Cardiff, Wales (since 2004). Then my photos of nightlife in Cardiff were becoming very popular (going viral on the Internet and being published all over the world) and I realised that maybe I could quit my job at university and try becoming a professional photographer. I built enough courage and did that in 2009. Later these photos were published by Thames&Hudson in 2012 as a "Cardiff After Dark" book.”

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    Jef Bateman
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    2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    The effect of that shadow is surreal. I thought that one guy had two shadows for a second.

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    Turns out, Maciej didn’t really study to become a photographer: “I studied computer science. I learned photography by myself, spending a lot of time on the Internet reading articles and studying photos of masters such as Alex Webb, Harry Gryuaert, and Steve McCurry. I was obsessed with photography to such an extent that I was not happy at work anymore, all I wanted was to take photos.

    This obsession and initial success of my photos made me quit my job. All my life was centered around photography. Now things are a bit different because I have a family and run my one-person photography workshop company so there is this daily life that occupies me. Still, photography is one of the most important things in my life, it is what I do and I like what I do. I am very lucky that my passion became my occupation.”

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    memeju1ce
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    2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    i have several questions and i’m not sure i want to know any of the answers

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    Tiny Dancer
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    2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Can't decide if this is scary or just really darn sad. Bit of both.

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    Night Owl
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    2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    All hair saloons should have that for kids. Just make sure it can't be turned on while cutting the hair

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    Agent 8433599
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    2 years ago (edited) DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    I don't know why, but this makes me happy. And it's just so beautiful

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    Tiny Dancer
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    2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    I don't trust those dudes either, little man. The shoes and shirts alone tell me enough. Run away, Grandpa!

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    Tiny Dancer
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    2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Ironically, no, it's not OK to pit God's creatures against each other for sport. This may be a market, but the awful camel races were the first thing I thought of.

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    Alex Travous
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    2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    I'm so confused as to what I'm looking at. It is a composite? Or is this dude literally coming out of a mirror?

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    Hill Branda
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    2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    a woman digging through mounds of trash. That's not "ironic;" it's tragic.

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